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Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East
The Patriarchal see of the Assyrian Church of the East in Ankawa, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Abbreviation	ACOE
Classification	Eastern Christian
Orientation	Syriac Christian
Theology	East Syriac theology
Catholicos-Patriarch	Mar Awa III
Region	Central Middle East, India; diaspora
Language	Syriac, Aramaic
Liturgy	East Syriac Rite
Headquarters	Ankawa, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Absorbed	Chaldean Syrian Church (1907)
Separations	Chaldean Catholic Church (1830), Ancient Church of the East (1968)
Members	400,000+ (2021)
Official website	Official website

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The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East. It belongs to the eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari belonging to the East Syriac Rite. Its main liturgical language is Classical Syriac, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic.

The Assyrian Church of the East is officially headquartered in the city of Erbil, in northern Iraq; its original area encompassed Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran, corresponding roughly to ancient Assyria. The current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Awa III, was consecrated in September 2021.

The Assyrian Church of the East claims continuity with the historical Church of the East, and is not in communion with the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox churches. The faction of the original Church of the East which came into full communion with the Holy See of Rome is the Chaldean Catholic Church, whose members are mostly ethnic Assyrians. After the Common Christological Declaration in 1994 between the Church of the East and the Catholic Church, and a 2001 theological dialogue between the churches, they drew up guidelines for the faithful to have mutual admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

The Assyrian Church of the East has a traditional episcopal structure, headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch. Its hierarchy is composed of metropolitan bishops and diocesan bishops, while lower clergy consists of priests and deacons, who serve in dioceses (eparchies) and parishes throughout the Western Asia, India, North America, Oceania, and Europe (including the Caucasus and Russia).

History

The Assyrian Church of the East considers itself as the continuation of the Church of the East, a church that originally developed among the Assyrians during the first century AD in Assyria, Upper Mesopotamia and northwestern Persia, east of the Byzantine Empire. It is an apostolic church established by Thomas the Apostle, Addai of Edessa, and Bartholomew the Apostle.

The historical distinctiveness of the Assyrian Church of the East resulted from the series of complex processes and events that occurred within the Church of the East during the transitional period that started in the middle of the 16th century, and lasted until the beginning of the 19th century. That turbulent period was marked by several consequent splits and mergers, resulting in the creation of separate branches and rival patriarchal lines. During the entire period, one of the main questions of dispute was the union with the Catholic Church. Ultimately, the pro-Catholic branches were consolidated as the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the traditional branches were consolidated as the Assyrian Church of the East.

Schisms and branches

During the patriarchal tenure of Shemon VII Ishoyahb (1539–1558), who resided in the ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery near Alqosh, an internal dissent occurred over several issues, including the question of hereditary succession to the patriarchal throne, and the question of union with the Catholic Church. By that time, Franciscan missionaries had already gained some influence over several local communities, and they took an active role in organizing the opposition to the Patriarch at that time. By the end of 1552, a pro-Catholic party had been organized in Mosul under the leadership of the priest Yohannan Sulaqa, who decided to legitimize his position by traveling to Rome and seeking confirmation by Pope Julius III (1550–1555).

Receiving support from the Franciscan missionaries, he arrived in Rome and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church in February 1553. At that point, officials of the Roman Curia were given incorrect information that the elderly Patriarch Shemon VII had actually died. After some deliberation, the Pope decided to appoint Yohannan Sulaqa as "Patriarch of Babylon" and named the breakaway Church as 'The Church of Assyria and Mosul" in April 1553.

Upon consecration, Yohannan Sulaqa took the name Shimun and by the end of the year he returned to his homeland. He started to organize the pro-Catholic party by appointing several metropolitans and bishops.

The senior Eliya line of Alqosh

Union with Rome was actively opposed by Patriarch Shemon VII Ishoyahb, who continued to reside in the Rabban Hormizd Monastery near the ancient Assyrian town of Alqosh. He was succeeded by his nephew Eliya (1558–1591), who was designated as Eliya "VII" in older historiography, but renumbered as Eliya "VI" in recent scholarly works. The same renumbering was applied to his successors, who all took the same name thus creating the Eliya line. During his patriarchal rule, the Eliya line preserved its traditional christology and full ecclesiastical independence. His successor was Patriarch Eliya VII (VIII) (1591–1617), who negotiated on several occasions with the Catholic Church, in 1605 and 1610, and again in 1615–1616, but without any conclusion. Further negotiations were abandoned by the next Patriarch Eliya VIII (IX) (1617–1660). David Wilmshurst noted that his successor, Patriarch Eliya IX (X) (1660–1700) also was a "vigorous defender of the traditional faith".

The Eliya line of traditionalist Patriarchs continued throughout the entire 18th century, residing in the ancient Monastery of Rabban Hormizd, which was eventually attacked and looted by muslim Turks in 1743, at the beginning of the Ottoman–Persian War (1743–1746). Faced with a centuries-old rivalry and frequent conflicts between two mighty Islamic empires (Ottoman and Persian), all Christian communities in the bordering regions were constantly exposed to danger – and not only in the times of war, since local, mainly Kurdish, warlords were accustomed to attacking Assyrian and Armenian Christian communities and monasteries and taking their land, often with Ottoman support. Patriarchs Eliya X (XI) (1700–1722) and Eliya XI (XII) (1722–1778) tried to improve the increasingly worsening position of their Christian flock by staying loyal to Ottoman authorities, but the local administration was frequently unable to provide effective protection. The Eliya line of traditionalist Patriarchs ended in 1804 with the death of Eliya XII (XIII) (1778–1804).

The junior Shimun line of Qochanis

During the second half of the 16th century, traditionalist patriarchs of the Eliya line were faced with the continuous presence of the pro-Catholic movement, led by successors of Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa. After his death in 1555, the newly established line of patriarchs who were united with the Catholic Church was continued by Abdisho IV Maron (1555–1570), who remained in full communion with the Catholic Church. He visited Rome and was officially confirmed by the Pope of Rome in 1562. Soon after his death, connections with Rome were weakened for the first time during the tenure of Patriarch Yahballaha IV who did not seek confirmation from the Pope. That interlude was ended by his successor Shimun IX Dinkha (1580–1600) who restored full communion with the Catholic Church, and was officially confirmed by the Pope in 1584.

After his death, the patriarchal office was made hereditary, and Patriarchs of this line continued to use the name Shimun, thus creating the Shimun line. Hereditary succession was not acceptable to Rome, and during the tenure of the next Patriarch Shimun X Eliyah (1600–1638) ties with the Catholic Church were loosened again. In 1616, Shimun X signed a traditional profession of faith that was not accepted by the Pope, leaving the Patriarch without Rome's confirmation. His successor Shimun XI Eshuyow (1638–1656) restored communion with the Catholic Church as late as 1653, eventually receiving confirmation from the Pope. By that time, the movement towards full commitment to the traditional faith was constantly growing stronger within the Shimun line. When the next Patriarch Shimun XII Yoalaha decided to send his profession of faith to the Pope, he was deposed by his bishops because of his pro-Catholic attitude. The Pope tried to intervene on his behalf, but without success.

Final resolution of conflicts within the Shimun line occurred under the next Patriarch Shimun XIII Dinkha (1662–1700), who definitively broke communion with the Catholic Church. In 1670, he gave a traditionalist reply to an approach that was made from the Pope, and by 1672 all connections with the Catholic Church were terminated. At the same time, Patriarch Shimun XIII moved his seat from Amid to Qochanis. After the final return to the traditional faith, Patriarchs of the Shimun line decided to keep their independence and after that time there were two independent lines of traditional patriarchs: the senior Eliya line in Alqosh and the junior Shimun line in Qochanis.

Such division was additionally caused by the complex structure of local Assyrian communities, traditionally organized as tribal confederations with each tribe being headed by a local lord (malik), while each malik was ultimately subject to the patriarch, who mediated between Christian Assyrians and the Ottoman authorities.

Consolidation of remaining branches

In 1780, at the beginning of the patriarchal tenure of Eliya XII (XIII) (1778–1804), a group seceded from the Eliya line in Alqosh and elected Yohannan Hormizd, who entered full communion with the Catholic Church and was officially appointed Archbishop of Mosul and patriarchal administrator of the Chaldean Catholic Church, in 1783. Only after the death in 1827 of the last representative of the Josephite line, Joseph V Augustine Hindi, was Yohannan recognized as the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch by the Pope, in 1830. By this official appointment, the final merger of various factions committed to the union with the Catholic Church was achieved, thus forming the modern Chaldean Catholic Church.

At the same time, the long coexistence and rivalry between two traditionalist patriarchal branches — the senior Eliya line of Alqosh and the junior Shimun line of Qochanis — ended in 1804 when the last primate of the Eliya line, Patriarch Eliya XII (XIII) died and was buried in the ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery. His branch decided not to elect a new patriarch, thus enabling the remaining patriarch Shimun XVI Yohannan (1780–1820) of the Shimun line to become the sole primate of both Assyrian traditionalist branches. Consolidated after 1804, the reunited traditionalist Church led by patriarchs of the Shimun line became widely known as the "Assyrian Church of the East". Still based in Qodchanis, Assyrian Patriarch Shimun XVI Yohannan was not able to secure control over the traditional seat of the former Eliya line in the ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery; and around 1808 that venerated monastic institution passed to the Chaldean Catholics.

The next Assyrian Patriarch Shimun XVII Abraham (1820–1861) also governed his church from Qodshanis. During years marked by political turbulence, he tried to maintain good relations with the local Ottoman authorities. In 1843, he was faced with renewed hostilities from Kurdish warlords, who attacked and looted many Christian villages, killing 10,000 Christian men and taking away women and children as captives. The patriarch himself was forced to take temporary refuge in Mosul. He was succeeded by Patriarch Shimun XVIII Rubil (1861–1903) who also resided in Qodshanis. In 1869, he received an open invitation from the Vatican to visit Rome to attend the First Vatican Council as an observer, but he did not accept the invitation, In following years, he also rejected other initiatives for union with the Catholic Church.

By the end of the 19th century, the Assyrian Church of the East consolidated itself as the sole representative of all traditionalist Assyrians. It also managed to secure a certain level of autonomy within the highly complex system of Ottoman local governance in the bordering regions. On several occasions, Assyrian patriarchs refused to enter communion with the Catholic Church or merge with the Chaldean Catholic Church. On the other hand, by the end of the 19th century some of its communities were converted to Protestantism by various western missionaries, while other communities were drawn to Eastern Orthodoxy. That movement was led by Assyrian Bishop Mar Yonan of Supurghan in the region of Urmia who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1898, through the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia.

20th century

Among all the tragedies and schisms which thinned the church out, no other was as severe as the Assyrian genocide. At that point the Assyrian Church of the East was based in the mountains of Hakkari, as it had been since 1681. In 1915, The Young Turks invaded the region — despite the Assyrians' plea of neutrality during the Caucasus campaign by Russia and their Armenian allies — out of fear of an Assyrian independence movement. In response to this, Assyrians of all denominations (the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church and Assyrian Protestants) entered into a war of independence and allied themselves with the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire and the Armenians against the Ottomans and their Islamic Kurdish, Iranian and Arab allies.

Despite the odds, the Assyrians fought successfully against the Ottomans and their allies for three years throughout southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria. Eventually, however, they were abandoned by their allies, the Russian Empire and the First Republic of Armenia, due to the Russian Revolution and the collapse of the Armenian defense, leaving the Assyrians vastly outnumbered, surrounded, and cut off from supplies of ammunition and food. During this period, their See at Qodchanis was completely destroyed and the Turks and their Islamic allies massacred all of the Assyrians in the Hakkari Mountains.

Those who survived fled into Iran with what remained of the Assyrian defense under Agha Petros, but they were pursued into Iranian territory despite the fact they were fleeing. Later, in 1918, after the murder of their de facto leader and Patriarch Shimun XIX Benyamin and 150 of his followers during a negotiation, fearing further massacres at the hands of the Turks and Kurds, most of the survivors fled by train from Iran into what was to become Iraq. They sought protection under the British mandate there, and joined the already existing indigenous Assyrian communities of both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic rites in the north, where they formed communities in Baghdad, Basra, and other areas.

Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai

In the aftermath of World War I, the British-educated Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai, born into the line of patriarchs at Qodchanis, had agitated for an independent Assyrian state. Following the end of the British mandate in 1933 and a massacre of Assyrian civilians at Simele by the Iraqi Army, the patriarch was forced to take refuge in Cyprus. There, Shimun petitioned the League of Nations regarding his people's fate, but to little avail, and he was consequently barred from entering Syria and Iraq. He traveled through Europe before moving to Chicago in 1940 to join the growing Assyrian diaspora community there.

Due to the church's and the general Assyrian community's disorganized state as a result of the conflicts of the 20th century, Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai was forced to reorganize the church's structure in the United States. He transferred his residence to San Francisco in 1954, and was able to travel to Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, and India, where he worked to strengthen the church.

In 1964, the patriarch decreed a number of changes to the church, including liturgical reform, the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, and the shortening of Lent. These changes, combined with Shimun's long absence from Iraq, caused a rift in the community there, which led to another schism. In 1968, traditionalists within the church elected Thoma Darmo as a rival patriarch to Shimun XXI Eshai, forming the independent Ancient Church of the East, based in Baghdad, Iraq.

In 1972, Shimun decided to step down as patriarch, and the following year he got married, in contravention to longstanding church custom. This led to a synod in 1973 in which further reforms were introduced, the most significant of which included the permanent abolition of hereditary succession — a practice introduced in the middle of the fifteenth century by Patriarch Shemon IV Basidi (who had died in 1497) — and it was also decided that Shimun should be reinstated. The second matter was supposed to be settled at another synod in 1975; however, Shimun was assassinated in November 1975 by an estranged relative before this could take place.

Patriarch Dinkha IV

Almost a year after the death of Shimun, Mar Khnanya Dinkha, Metropolitan of Tehran, convened a synod of seven Assyrian bishops which took place at St Paul's Abbey, Alton, in England, from 12 to 17 October 1976. They were joined by two Church of England bishops, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, and elected Dinkha as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East. On 17 October he was consecrated as Dinkha IV at St Barnabas Church, Ealing, in an area where many Assyrians lived.

Dinkha, who was then aged 33, operated his see at Tehran until the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–1988, when he went into exile in the United States and transferred the Patriarchal See to Chicago. Much of his patriarchate had been concerned with tending to the Assyrian diaspora community and with ecumenical efforts to strengthen relations with other churches. On 26 March 2015, Dinkha IV died in the United States, leaving the Assyrian Church of the East in a period of sede vacante until 18 September 2015. During that time, Aprem Mooken served as the custodian of the Patriarchate of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.

Patriarch Gewargis III

On 18 September 2015, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East elected the Metropolitan of Iraq, Jordan, and Russia, Warda Sliwa, to succeed the late Dinkha IV as Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. On 27 September 2015, he was consecrated as Catholicos-Patriarch in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist, in Erbil, Iraq. Upon his consecration, he assumed the ecclesiastical name Gewargis III.

Church leaders proposed moving the Patriarchal See from Chicago back to Erbil.

There have also been talks of reunification. In the Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East in 1994, the two churches recognized the legitimacy and rightness of each other's titles for Mary.

In 2005, the Assyrian Church of the East had about 380,000 members, mostly living in the United States, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Patriarch Awa III

On 6 September 2021, Mar Gewargis III formally stepped down as Catholicos-Patriarch during an Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, leaving the Patriarchal See vacant. On 8 September 2021, the Holy Synod elected Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod, to succeed Mar Gewargis III as the 122nd Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He was Consecrated and Enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch on 13 September 2021, on the Feast of the Holy Cross, in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist in Erbil, Iraq, and assumed the ecclesiastical name Mar Awa III.

Doctrine

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Following doctrinal traditions of the ancient Church of the East, the modern Assyrian Church of the East recognizes the first two ecumenical councils: the First Council of Nicaea (325), and the First Council of Constantinople (381). The Assyrian Church follows trinitarian doctrines, expressed in the Nicene Creed, and professes the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father.

Christology

Theologically, the Assyrian Church of the East does not accept doctrinal definitions that were adopted at the Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of Chalcedon (451), and still adheres to the Church of the East's traditional Christology, that is often labeled as Nestorian. The use and exact meaning of that term has been the subject of many debates, not only throughout history but also in modern times, since the Assyrian Church of the East has distinctive views on several Christological questions and claims that its theological doctrines and traditions are essentially Orthodox, while admitting the need for further inter-Christian dialogue that would resolve various questions in the field of comparative Christological terminology.

The Nestorian nature of Assyrian Christianity remains a matter of contention. Elements of Nestorian doctrine were explicitly repudiated by Patriarch Dinkha IV on the occasion of his accession in 1976.

The Christology of the Church of the East has its roots in the Antiochene theological tradition of the early church. The founders of Assyrian theology are Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, both of whom taught at Antioch. "Antiochene" is a modern designation given to the style of theology associated with the early church at Antioch, as contrasted with the theology of the Church of Alexandria.

Antiochene theology emphasizes Christ's humanity and the reality of the moral choices he faced. In order to preserve the impassibility of Christ's Divine Nature, the unity of his person is defined in a looser fashion than in the Alexandrian tradition. The normative Christology of the Church of the East was written by Babai the Great (d. 628) during the controversy that followed the 431 Council of Ephesus. Babai held that within Christ there exist two qnome (Syriac: ܩܢܘܡܐ / qnômâ, a complex term, equivalent for Greek term hypostasis), unmingled, but everlastingly united in the one prosopon (person) of Christ.

The precise Christological teachings of Nestorius are shrouded in obscurity. Wary of Monophysitism, Nestorius rejected Cyril's theory of a hypostatic union, proposing instead a much looser concept of prosopic union. Nestorianism has come to mean radical Dyophysitism, in which Christ's two natures are eternally separate, though it is doubtful whether Nestorius ever taught such a doctrine. Nestorius' rejection of the term Theotokos ('God-bearer', or 'Mother of God') has traditionally been held as evidence that he asserted the existence of two persons (dyoprosopism) — not merely two natures — in Jesus Christ, but there exists no evidence that Nestorius denied Christ's oneness. In the controversy that followed the Council of Ephesus, the term "Nestorian" was applied to all doctrine upholding a strictly Antiochene Christology. In consequence, the Church of the East was labelled Nestorian, though its official Christology was in fact defined by Babai the Great, at the council that was held in 612.

Liturgy

The church employs the Syriac dialect of Eastern Aramaic in its liturgy, the East Syriac Rite, which includes three anaphoras, attributed to Addai of Edessa and Mari, Theodore of Mopsuestia and later also Nestorius.

Iconography

In their homes, Christians belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East hang a Christian cross (without the corpus) on the eastern wall of the main room.

The Assyrian Church of the East does not make use of icons, and the interiors of its houses of worship are simple. Iconography has been present in the Church of the East's history; opposition to religious images eventually became the norm due to the spread of Islam in the region, which forbade any type of depictions of saints and biblical prophets. Thus, the church was forced to get rid of her icons.

A Nestorian Peshitta Gospel book written in Estrangela, from the 13th century, resides at the State Library of Berlin. This illustrated manuscript from Upper Mesopotamia or Tur Abdin proves that in the 13th century the church was not yet aniconic. The Nestorian Evangelion preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de France contains an illustration depicting Jesus Christ (not a crucifix) in the circle of a ringed cross (in the form of Celtic cross) surrounded by four angels.

Three Syriac manuscripts from the early 19th century and earlier—they were edited into a compilation titled The Book of Protection by Hermann Gollancz—contain a number of illustrations which are more or less crude. These manuscripts prove the continuous use of images. Moreover, a life-size male stucco figure was discovered in a church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon from the late 6th century. Beneath this church were found the remains of an earlier church. Although it cannot be determined which Nestorian Church was involved, the discovery nevertheless proves that the Church of the East also used figurative representations.

Organization

The Assyrian Church of the East is governed by an episcopal polity, the same as other apostolic churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses and archdioceses. The Catholicos-Patriarch is the head of the church. Its synod is composed of bishops who oversee individual dioceses and metropolitans who oversee episcopal dioceses in their territorial jurisdiction.

The Chaldean Syrian Church, which encompasses India and the Persian Gulf, is the largest diocese of the church. Its history goes back to the Church of the East that established a presence in Kerala, but the two communities maintained only a sporadic connection for several centuries, and consistent relations were only established with the arrival of the Portuguese in India around 1500. The church is represented by the Assyrian Church of the East and is in communion with it.

Membership is estimated to 385,000 adherents, although some sources say as high as 500,000. According to scholar James Minahan around 19% of the Assyrian people belong to the Assyrian Church of the East. In its own 2018 Report on Religious Freedom, the United States Department of State put the Assyrian Church of the East adherents at approximately 20% of the Christians in Iraq.

Hierarchy

Due to the unstable political, religious and economic situation in the church's historical homeland of the Middle East, many of the church members now reside in Western countries. Churches and dioceses have been established throughout Europe, America, and Oceania.

Archdioceses

1. Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon – established in October 1984.
2. Archdiocese of Syria – jurisdiction lies throughout all Syria, particularly in the al-Hasakah Governorate, where most of the community resides in al-Hasakah, Qamishli and the 35 villages along the Khabur River. There are also small communities in Damascus and Aleppo.
3. Archdiocese of India – the archdiocese's territory includes the city of Thrissur and surrounding, mostly in the state of Kerala.

Dioceses

1. Diocese of Iran – territory includes the capital Tehran, the Urmia and Salmas plains.
2. Diocese of Nohadra and Nineveh – established in 1999 with jurisdiction includes the indigenous communities of Dohuk and Nineveh.
3. Diocese of Scandinavia and Germany – territory lies in western Europe and includes Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Norway.
4. Diocese of Eastern USA – formerly the patriarchal archdiocese from 1994 until 2012. The territory includes the large Illinois community, along with smaller parishes in Michigan, New England and New York.
5. Diocese of California – jurisdiction includes parishes in Western US and northern California. Some of the parishes are San Francisco, San Jose, Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Seattle, and Sacramento.
6. Diocese of Western United States – jurisdiction includes parishes in Arizona and southern California.
7. Diocese of Canada – includes the territory of Toronto, Windsor, Hamilton and all Canada.
8. Diocese of Victoria and New Zealand – includes Melbourne and New Zealand.
9. Diocese of Western Europe – territory lies in Western Europe and includes the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece.
10. Diocese of Bagdad, Ukraine and Georgia.

Members of the Holy Synod

As of May 2024

1. Mar Awa III: 122nd Catholicos-Patriarch
2. Meelis Zaia: Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon and Patriarchal Vicar General
3. Afram Athneil: Metropolitan of Syria
4. Awgin Kuriakose: Metropolitan of India and the Gulf Countries
5. Odisho Awraham: Bishop of Scandinavia and Germany
6. Narsai Benyamin: Bishop of Iran
7. Paulus Benjamin: Bishop of the Eastern United States
8. Abris Youkhannan: Bishop of Dohuk and Nineveh
9. Benyamin Elya: Bishop of Victoria & New Zealand and Secretary of the Holy Synod
10. Awraham Youkhanis: Bishop of Western Europe
11. Elia Tamras: Bishop of Baghdad, Ukraine and Georgia.

Retired:

• Aprem Mooken: Metropolitan Emeritus of Malabar and India
• Sargis Yosip: Bishop Emeritus of Baghdad
• Aprim Khamis: Bishop Emeritus of the Western United States
• Emmanuel Yosip: Bishop Emeritus of Canada

Ecumenical relations

On November 11, 1994, a historic meeting between Patriarch Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II took place in Rome. His Holiness, the Pope, and the patriarch signed a document titled "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". One side effect of this meeting was that the Assyrian Church of the East's relationship with the fellow Chaldean Catholic Church began to improve.

Τhe Assyrian Church of the East was never admitted a full member of the Middle East Council of Churches, due to the Coptic Orthodox Church accusing the Assyrian Church of the East to be Nestorian, and thus, heretical.

The lack of a coherent institution narrative in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, which dates to apostolic times, has caused many Western Christians, and especially Roman Catholics, to doubt the validity of this anaphora, used extensively by the Assyrian Church of the East, as a prayer of consecration of the eucharistic elements. In 2001, after a study of this issue, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, promulgated a declaration approved by Pope John Paul II stating that this is a valid anaphora. This declaration opened the door to a joint synodal decree officially implementing the present Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

See also

• Abda of Hira
• Chaldean Syrian Church in India (also known as Assyrian Church of the East in India)
• Church of the East in China
• Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East
• Dioceses of the Church of the East to 1318
• Dioceses of the Church of the East, 1318–1552
• Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552
• List of patriarchs of the East
• List of Assyrian settlements
• List of Assyrian tribes

Notes

1. Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ, romanized: ʿĒḏtā ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē; Arabic: كنيسة المشرق الآشورية
2. Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ, romanized: ʿĒḏtā Qaddīštā wa-Šlīḥāytā Qāṯōlīqī ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē; Arabic: كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسولية الجاثلقية المقدسة

References

1. "Interview with Mar Awa Royel, the newly elected patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East". YouTube. 8 September 2021.
2. Holy Apostolic Assyrian Church of the East Official News Website
3. Murre van den Berg 2011, p. 154-159.
4. ^ "Østens Assyriske Kirke i Danmark". assyrianchurch.dk. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
5. ^ Parry, Ken; Melling, David J.; Brady, Dimitri; Griffith, Sidney H.; Healey, John F., eds. (1 September 2017) . "Church of the East". The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 122. doi:10.1002/9781405166584. ISBN 978-1-4051-6658-4.
6. ^ Parry, Ken; Melling, David J.; Brady, Dimitri; Griffith, Sidney H.; Healey, John F., eds. (1 September 2017) . "Middle East Council of Churches". The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 317. doi:10.1002/9781405166584. ISBN 978-1-4051-6658-4.
7. Binns 2002, p. 28.
8. "اخبار كنيسة المشرق الاشورية". اخبار كنيسة المشرق الاشورية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
9. Hunter 2014, p. 601-620.
10. "Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". Vatican.va. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
11. ^ Hunter 2014, p. 614-615.
12. Wilmshurst 2000.
13. Baum & Winkler 2003.
14. Lemmens 1926, p. 17-28.
15. Habbi 1966, p. 99-132.
16. ^ Wilmshurst 2000, p. 22.
17. Gulik 1904, p. 261-277.
18. Tisserant 1931, p. 261-263.
19. Fiey 1993, p. 37.
20. Murre van den Berg 1999a, p. 243-244.
21. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 116, 174.
22. ^ Hage 2007, p. 473.
23. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 22, 42 194, 260, 355.
24. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 24.
25. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 24-25.
26. ^ Wilmshurst 2000, p. 25.
27. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 205, 263.
28. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 28, 195, 242, 250–251, 355.
29. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 263.
30. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 22-23.
31. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 23.
32. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 23-24.
33. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 24, 315.
34. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 25, 316.
35. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 114, 118, 174–175.
36. ^ Murre van den Berg 1999a, p. 235-264.
37. Wigram 1914.
38. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 120, 175.
39. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 316-319, 356.
40. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 125, 263–264.
41. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 33, 212.
42. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 129-130.
43. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 35-36.
44. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 275-276.
45. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 324.
46. Wilmshurst 2000, p. 36, 281, 314.
47. Yakoub 2020.
48. ^ Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 354.
49. ^ Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 144.
50. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 147-148.
51. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 148-149.
52. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 149.
53. Joseph 2000, p. 252.
54. ^ Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 150-155.
55. "Holy Synod Announcement – Passing of Catholicos-Patriarch". Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
56. "Notice from the Locum Tenens". Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
57. Nagl, Kurt (26 September 2015). "Assyrian Church of the East elects new leader". Rudaw Media Network.
58. "Common Christological declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". The Holy See. 11 November 1994. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
59. ^ Rassam, Suha (2005). Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 166. ISBN 9780852446331. The number of the faithful at the beginning of the twenty - first century belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East under Mar Dinkha was estimated to be around 385,000 , and the number belonging to the Ancient Church of the East under Mar Addia to be 50,000-70,000.
60. "Nestorian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
61. Eduardo Campo, Juan (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 9781438126968. the Assyrian Church of the East (found mainly in northern Iraq, southern Turkey, Iran, southwest India, and now the United States).
62. "His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia Remarks on the Election of the New Patriarch". Youtube. Assyrian Church of the East. 8 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
63. Sirwan, Dilan (9 September 2021). "The Assyrian Church of the East elects new patriarch in Erbil". Rudaw Media Network. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
64. Brock 1999, p. 293.
65. ^ Brock 2006.
66. Hill 1988, p. 107.
67. ^ Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 79.
68. Burgess 1989, p. 90, 229, 231.
69. Cross & Livingstone 2005, p. 339.
70. "Sign of the Cross". Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East - Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020. Inside their homes, a cross is placed on the eastern wall of the first room. If one sees a cross in a house and do not find a crucifix or pictures, it is almost certain that the particular family belongs to the Church of the East.
71. ^ Horner, Norman A. (1989). A Guide to Christian Churches in the Middle East: Present-day Christianity in the Middle East and North Africa. Mission Focus. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-877736-00-1. The Assyrian Church of the East uses neither images nor icons. A stand, holding a copy of the Gospels and covered with a cloth, bears a simple cross that is venerated with the kiss of peace that people in other Eastern churches accord to their icons. The simplicity of their church interiors may reflect a concession to the Islamic objection to religious pictures in places of worship, or it may merely attest to the poverty of an isolated Christian people.
72. Tighe, William J. "The Shadow of Nestorius by William J. Tighe". Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
73. ^ Baumer, Christoph (2016). The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (New ed.). London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 75 and 94. ISBN 978-1-78453-683-1.
74. Drège, Jean-Pierre (1992) . Marco Polo y la Ruta de la Seda. Collection "Aguilar Universal" (in Spanish). Vol. 31. Translated by López Carmona, Mari Pepa. Madrid: Aguilar, S. A. de Ediciones. pp. 43 & 187. ISBN 978-84-0360-187-1. OCLC 1024004171. Doctrinas persas
75. "The Church of the East – Mark Dickens". The American Foundation for Syriac Studies. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
76. Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 206. ISBN 9780313321092. The Assyrians, although closely assiociated with their Christian religion, are divided among a number of Christian sects. The largest denominations are the Chaldean Catholic Church with about 45% of the Assyrian population, the Syriac Orthodox with 26%, the Assyrian Church of the East with 19%, the free Orthodox Church of Antioch or Syriac Catholic Church with 4%, and various Protestant sects with a combined 6%.
77. "Iraq 2018 International Religious Freedom Report, p. 3" (PDF). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
78. "Our Churches".
79. "Elia Isaac Tamrs - Names - Orthodoxia".
80. Mooken 2003, p. 18.
81. "Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". vatican.va.

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External links

• Definitions from Wiktionary
• Media from Commons
• Data from Wikidata

v t e Dioceses of the Church of the East
Hierarchy divided into the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East after the schism of 1552
Time periods	Dioceses of the Church of the East to 1318 Dioceses of the Church of the East, 1318–1552 Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552
Interior metropolitan provinces to 1318	Adiabene Beth Garmaï Beth Huzaye Maishan Nisibis Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
Exterior metropolitan provinces to 1318	Beth Sinaye (China) Beth Tuptaye (Tibet) Dailam Damascus Fars Herat Hulwan India Islands of the Sea Kashgar and Nevaketh Katai and Ong Merv Rai Samarqand Tangut
dioceses to 1318	Abiward and Shahr Piroz Adarbaigan Al-Bariya Al-Kuj Al-Qabba Al-Rustaq Aoustan d'Arzun Armenia Ardashir Khurrah (Shiraf) Arzun Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)Aïn Sipne]] Badisi and Qadistan Balad Barhis Beth Bgash Beth Daraye Beth Dasen Beth Lapat Beth Mazunaye (Oman) Beth Moksaye Beth Nuhadra Beth Rahimaï Beth Tabyathe and the Kartawaye Beth Waziq Beth Zabdaï Bih Shabur (Kazrun) Dabarin Dairin Darabgard Dasqarta d'Malka Delasar Dinawar Egypt Erbil Eshnuq Gawkaï Gubeans Gurgan Haditha Hagar Hamadan Hamir Harran and Callinicus Hatta Hebton Herat Hesna d'Kifa Hirta Hormizd Ardashir Hrbath Glal Ispahan Istakhr Jerusalem Jews Karka d'Beth Slokh Karka d'Ledan Karka d'Maishan Karman Kashkar Khanijar Lashom Mahoze d'Arewan Mardin Marga Marmadit Masabadan Mashkena d'Qurdu Mashmahig (Bahrain) Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)altha and Hnitha]] Merw i-Rud Meskene Mihraganqadaq Mosul Muqan Nahargur Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)maniya]] Nihawand Nineveh Piroz Shabur Prath d'Maishan Pusang Qaimar Qarta and Adarma Qasr and Nahrawan Qish Qube d'Arzun Radani Ram Hormizd Ramonin Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)aïna]] Rima Salakh Salmas Segestan Seleucia-Ctesiphon Shahpur Khwast Shahrgard Shahrzur Shenna d'Beth Ramman Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)Arabaye]] Shushter Soqotra Susa Taimana Tahal Tamanon Tirhan Tus and Abrashahr (Nishapur) Urmi Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)Ukbara]] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)a]] Zabe
Post-1318 dioceses (See also: dioceses from 1318 to 1552 and dioceses after 1552)	Ahwaz Alqosh Amid Anzel Ardishai Atel and Bohtan Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)Amadiya]] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help)Aqra]] Berwari Cyprus Erbil (East Syriac diocese) Erbil (Chaldean archeparchy) Gawar Gazarta Hakkari Jilu Kirkuk Mardin Mosul Nisibis Salmas Seert Sehna Shemsdin Tis Tuleki Zakho
Christianity portal

v t e Eastern Christianity
Cultural area of Christian traditions that developed since Early Christianity in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, North and East Africa, Asia Minor, South India, and parts of the Far East.
Main divisions	Communions Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches Eastern Catholic Churches Assyrian Church of the East Ancient Church of the East Independent Churches/Communions Old Believers Spiritual Christianity True Orthodox churches Tolstoyans Protestantism Eastern Protestantism	Christ Pantocrator (circa 1261) in Hagia Sophia
History	Christianization of Armenia Christianization of Georgia Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire Copts Proto-orthodoxy Ecumenical council Heresies Nestorianism Iconoclasm Paulicianism Bogomilism Church of the East China Sichuan India Mongols Oriental Orthodox Churches Council of Chalcedon Saint Thomas Christians/Malankara Church Arab Christians Antiochian Greek Christians Melkite Ghassanids Christianization of Bulgaria Christianization of Kievan Rus' Turkic Christians Eastern Orthodox Church East–West Schism Raskol Moscow–Constantinople schisms 15th–16th centuries schism 1996 schism 2018 schism
Scriptures	Canon Old Testament New Testament Deuterocanon Septuagint Peshitta
Theology	Hesychasm Icon Apophaticism Filioque clause Miaphysitism Dyophysitism Nestorianism Theosis Theoria Phronema Philokalia Praxis Theotokos Hypostasis Ousia Essence–energies distinction Metousiosis
Worship	Sign of the cross Divine Liturgy Iconography Asceticism Omophorion

v t e Assyrian people
Ethno-linguistic group(s) indigenous to the Middle East; also known as Syriac-Arameans or Chaldeans
Identity	Assyrian continuity Assyrian diaspora Terms for Syriac Christians	Assyrian flag Aramean-Syriac flag Chaldean flag
Syriac Christianity	West Syriac Rite Syriac Orthodox Church (518–) Syriac Catholic Church (1662–) Assyrian Evangelical Church (1870–) Assyrian Pentecostal Church (1940–) East Syriac Rite Chaldean Catholic Church (1552–) Assyrian Church of the East (1692–) Ancient Church of the East (1968–)
Neo-Aramaic dialects	Sureth Turoyo Bohtan Neo-Aramaic Hertevin Senaya Mlaḥsô Syriac script
Culture	Assyrian folk-pop music Music of Mesopotamia Syriac sacral music Folk dance Cuisine
History (including related contexts)	Ancient Assyria Early Assyrian period (2600–2025 BCE) Old Assyrian period (2025–1364 BCE) Middle Assyrian Empire (1363–912 BCE) Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BCE) Post-imperial Assyria (609 BCE–240 CE) Ancient Mesopotamian religion Arameans Assyrian tribes Classical antiquity Seleucid Empire (312–63 BCE) Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 CE) Osroene (132 BCE–244 CE) Syrian Wars (66 BCE–217 CE) Roman Syria (64 BCE–637 CE) Adiabene (15–116) Roman Assyria (116–118) Christianization (1st to 3rd c.) Nestorian schism (5th c.) Church of the East (410-1552) Asoristan (226–651) Byzantine–Sasanian Wars (502–628) Middle ages Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia (630s) Muslim conquest of Syria (630s) Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) Emirs of Mosul (905–1383) Buyid amirate (945–1055) Principality of Antioch (1098–1268) Ilkhanate (1258–1335) Jalayirid Sultanate (1335–1432) Qara Qoyunlu (1375–1468) Aq Qoyunlu (1453–1501) Modern era Safavid Empire (1508–55) Ottoman Empire (1555–1917) Schism of 1552 (16th c.) Massacres of Badr Khan (1840s) Massacres of Diyarbekir (1895) Rise of nationalism (19th c.) Adana massacre (1909) Assyrian genocide (1914–20) Independence movement (1919–) Simele massacre (1933) Post-Saddam Iraq (2003–) Genocide of Christians by ISIL (2014–)
By country	Homeland Settlements Iraq Nineveh Plains Qaraqosh Alqosh Tel Keppe Bartella Ankawa Shaqlawa Zakho Iran Urmia Salmas Sanandaj Syria Al-Hasakah Governorate Al-Hasakah Tell Tamer Qamishli Khabur Turkey Hakkari Diyarbakır Elazığ Mardin Province Mardin Mazıdağı Tur Abdin Diaspora Armenia Australia Belgium Canada Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Israel Jordan Lebanon Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Palestine Russia Sweden United Kingdom United States Detroit
Politics	Assyrian Democratic Movement Assyrian Democratic Organisation Assyrian Universal Alliance Dawronoye Syriac Union Party (Syria) Syriac Union Party (Lebanon) Syriac Military Council Sutoro
History portal Christianity portal

• Assyrian Church of the East
• 1552 establishments in Asia
• Assyrian-American culture in Illinois
• Religious organizations based in Chicago